U.S. patent number 5,073,163 [Application Number 07/471,779] was granted by the patent office on 1991-12-17 for apparatus for treating glaucoma.
Invention is credited to Myron E. Lippman.
United States Patent |
5,073,163 |
Lippman |
December 17, 1991 |
Apparatus for treating glaucoma
Abstract
An apparatus for treating glaucoma which can be mounted directly
onto the outer surface of the eyeball with a portion of the
apparatus to connect with the interior of the eyeball. The
apparatus includes a plastic block including a plurality of tiny
through openings. Liquid from the interior of the eyeball is to
seep through the openings in the plastic block to relieve excess
pressure within the eyeball. This leakage is to occur only when the
pressure level within the eyeball exceeds a predetermined
level.
Inventors: |
Lippman; Myron E. (Santa
Barbara, CA) |
Family
ID: |
23872966 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/471,779 |
Filed: |
January 29, 1990 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
604/9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
9/00781 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
9/007 (20060101); A61M 005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;604/8-10,22,126,252,294
;55/159 ;137/497 ;138/44 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Rosenbaum; C. Fred
Assistant Examiner: Lewis; William W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Munro; Jack C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for treating glaucoma comprising:
a housing having a longitudinal center axis, said housing having a
main section and a tubular extension, said tubular extension having
an open outer end, said tubular extension connecting with said main
section, said tubular extension being hollow defining a connecting
chamber, said main section being hollow defining a main chamber,
said connecting chamber connecting with said main chamber, said
main chamber having an open aft end;
a rigid plastic block located within said housing, said rigid
plastic block closely conforming in a fluid tight manner to said
housing, said rigid plastic block having a plurality of tiny
through openings located in a parallel spaced-apart arrangement,
each said through opening having a diameter no greater than one
thousandth of an inch and a length of at least one-sixteenth of an
inch, said through openings cause sufficient restriction to passage
of a liquid therethrough to be able to maintain a pressure
differential of approximately twenty millimeters of mercury between
the liquid and the ambient.
2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein:
said housing being constructed of a bendable material, said tubular
extension being capable of limited pivoting movement relative to
said main section.
3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein:
said main chamber being larger in cross-section than said extension
in cross-section.
4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein:
said main section having a pair of side extending flanges mounted
on the exterior surface of the main section, said side extending
flanges facilitating suturing of said main section to an
eyeball.
5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein:
said rigid plastic block being located within said main
chamber.
6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein:
the longitudinal dimension of through openings being located
substantially parallel to said longitudinal center axis.
7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein:
said rigid plastic block being divided into a first part and a
second part, said first part being mounted within said main
chamber, said second part being located within said connecting
chamber.
8. An apparatus for treating glaucoma comprising:
a housing having a longitudinal center axis, said housing having a
main section and a tubular extension, said tubular extension having
an open outer end, said tubular extension connecting with said main
section, said tubular extension being hollow defining a connecting
chamber, said main section being hollow defining a main chamber,
said connecting chamber connecting with said main chamber, said
main chamber having an open aft end;
a rigid block located within said housing, said rigid block closely
conforming in a fluid tight manner to said housing, said rigid
block having a plurality of tiny through openings, each said
through opening having a diameter no greater than one thousandth of
an inch, said through openings cause sufficient restriction to
passage of a liquid therethrough to be able to maintain a pressure
differential of approximately twenty millimiters of mercury between
the liquid and the ambient;
said housing being constructed of a bendable material, said tubular
extension being capable of limited pivoting movement relative to
said main section;
said main chamber being larger in cross-section than said extension
in cross-section;
said main section having a pair of side extending flanges mounted
on the exterior surface of the main section, said side extending
flanges facilitating suturing of said main section to an eyeball;
and
a second set of side flanges being attached to said tubular
extension extending outwardly therefrom, said second set of side
flanges facilitating suturing to an eyeball.
9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein:
said rigid plastic block being divided into a first part and a
second part, said first part being mounted within said main
chamber, said second part being located within said connecting
chamber.
Description
REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION
The subject application is a substitute application of patent
application Ser. No. 07/234,534, filed Aug. 22, 1988, by the same
title and by the same inventor and now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of this invention has to do with medicine and more
particularly to an apparatus which is to be mounted in conjunction
with an eyeball to provide for a continuous source for relief of
pressure of the liquid contained within the eyeball to prevent that
liquid from exceeding a pre-established pressure level.
A common disease of the eye is glaucoma. Within the eyeball is
located a liquid called the aqueous humor and vitreous humor. This
liquid is normally under a certain pressure with the common
pressure being approximately twenty millimiters of mercury. In
glaucoma, this pressure increases and if the pressure gets too
severe, the individual can go blind.
In the past, there have been different techniques to relieve this
excessive pressure and a vast amount of money is spent each year on
drops that are to be placed onto the eye that are minimally
effective. Additionally, there have been numerous surgical
techniques in order to relieve this pressure. One of the most
common surgical techniques is to cut a hole in the eyeball which
provides an outlet for some of the liquid contained in the eyeball
thereby relieving the pressure. This hole is then sutured. The
disadvantage of this technique is that initially the pressure of
the liquid in the eyeball is decreased below the desired level to
atmospheric pressure this lack of pressure within the eyeball can
cause certain undesirable medical problems such as corneal
dystrophy as well as other problems. As time goes on, normally the
pressure will again build back to its original adverse level which
will require duplicating of the surgical procedure or initiating
some other procedure.
To overcome the disadvantage of this technique there has been
manufactured a valve assembly which is to be mounted in conjunction
with the eyeball and located within the hole cut into the eyeball.
It is the function of this valve to be activated if a certain
pressure level is exceeded and provide an escape route for some of
the liquid contained within the eyeball thereby releasing the
pressure. The disadvantage of this valve is that it frequently
malfunctions thereby requiring replacement or removal of the valve
unit.
Another known device has to do with utilizing a balloon operating a
pump and check valve as opposed to sole use of a check valve. This
pump is to release liquid when pressure is applied to the balloon.
This pressure to the balloon is to be applied by the natural
blinking process of a human being or is to be applied by manual
rubbing of one's eye. Again, this type of unit is not free from
malfunction.
There is a need to construct an improved form of pressure relieving
device which is to be mounted in conjunction with an eyeball which
will continually release the pressure of an eyeball once the
pressure has exceeded a predetermined level with this device being
substantially free of malfunction having no moving parts, valves or
pumps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The basis of the subject matter of this invention has to do with
utilization of a tiny block of plastic within which is located a
mass of tiny through openings. This block is located to separate
the pressurized liquid from the ambient. These openings are so tiny
that it will be necessary for the liquid to exceed a certain
pre-established pressure level in order for leaking of the liquid
to be initiated through the openings. In other words, in
conjunction with this invention, the size of the openings can be
pre-established to require that the pressure level of liquid exceed
twenty millimeters of mercury in order for adequate leakage to
begin. If the pressure level begins to drop below the twenty
millimeters of mercury, the leakage stops. This block is to be
mounted within a flexible rubber housing. This housing is to
include a tubular extension. Side flanges are mounted on the
exterior of the housing in order to facilitate suturing of the
housing onto an eyeball.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide for
pressure relief of the interior of the eyeball of a human being
without including any moving parts in conjunction with a pressure
relief apparatus thereby substantially eliminating any possibility
of malfunction of the apparatus once installed.
Another objective of the present invention is to construct an
apparatus which can be simply and quickly installed in position in
conjunction with the eyeball thereby minimizing the difficulty of
the operative technique.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the apparatus of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view depicting installation of the
apparatus of the present invention in conjunction with an
eyeball;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through an eyeball showing the
approximate position of the apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal, cross-sectional view of the apparatus of
this invention taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a lateral, cross-sectional view of the apparatus of this
invention taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 6 is a front end view of the apparatus of this invention taken
along line 6--6 of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENT
Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, there is
depicted a portion of an eyeball 10 which has a cornea 12.
Surrounding the cornea 12 is the white of the eye, which is known
as the sclera 14. Within the interior of the eyeball, there is
located an iris 16 which surrounds a lens 18. Located between the
lens 18 and the cornea 12 is a liquid known as the aqueous humor
20. Located interiorly of the sclera 14 is a liquid known as
vitreous humor 22.
A surgical incision 24 is to be made in the sclera 14 by means of
appropriate medical, surgical instruments 26 and 28. When making
the incision 24, tools 30 and 32 are utilized to spread apart the
eyelid 34 to expose the sclera 14 as much as possible to facilitate
the making of the incision 24. The incision 24 is made in such a
manner to produce a flap (not shown) of the sclera 14. Within the
incision area there is to be located the apparatus 36 of this
invention.
Apparatus 36 is formed of a housing defined by a main section
housing 38 and a tubular extension 40. Both the main section
housing 38 and tubular extension 40 are constructed of the same
material and are integrally connected together. The preferable
material would be a rubber and a pliable rubber. Although, the
apparatus 36 will assume an at-rest position as shown in FIG. 1,
the apparatus is readily bendable so that the tubular extension 40
can be easily pivoted relative to the main section housing 38 with
this pivoting action being clearly shown in the phantom lines in
FIG. 4. The reason for this bending is so the tubular extension 40
can be inserted through a hole 42 which has been cut through the
sclera 14 of the eyeball 10 into the cavity occupied by the aqueous
humor 20. Also, some physicians may make the hole 42 into the
chamber occupied by the vitreous humor 22.
The main section housing 38 includes an interior chamber 44. The
tubular extension 40 includes a cylindrical interior chamber 46.
The exterior bottom edge of the tubular extension 40 is formed as a
flat wall 48. This flat wall 48 facilitates the locating of the
tubular extension 30 against the sclera 14 that was cut by the
incision 24.
Within the chamber 44 is located a plastic block 50. This plastic
block 50 has a mass of tiny, through openings 52. These openings
52, in all probability, will not exceed one-thousandth of an inch.
The block 50 may be probably no greater than one-eighth of an inch
square and may well be in the range of one-sixteenth of an inch
square. It is estimated that there will be approximately two
hundred twenty-five of the openings 52 formed within the block
50.
There may be utilized within the interior chamber 46 a cylindrical
plastic block 54. Within this block 54 there is similarly included
a mass of tiny, through openings 56. The size of the openings 56
are basically identical to the size of the openings 52. The
material of construction for the cylindrical block 54 will
generally be the same as the material of construction of the block
50. In some instances, it may be found to be desirable to not
utilize the block 54, but use only block 50.
Extending laterally from one side of the main section housing 38 is
a mounting flange 58. A similar mounting flange 60 is attached to
the opposite side of the main section housing 38 and extends
laterally therefrom. The length of the flanges 58 and 60 are
identical as is also their overall size. Normally, the approximate
length of the flanges 58 and 60 will be about one-tenth of an inch.
The length of the flanges 58 and 60 is just slightly less than the
overall length of the main section housing 38 which is generally in
the range of one hundred twenty thousandths of an inch.
Suturing is to occur between the sclera 14 and the flanges 58 and
60 to securely mount in place the main section housing 38. This
suturing is shown as stitches 62 of flange 58 and stitches 64 for
flange 60.
The outer end of the cylindrical block 54 is beveled into a rounded
surface 66. This rounded 66 protrudes slightly from the end of the
tubular extension 40. This rounded end 66 will actually be located
within the interior of the eyeball 10 when it is properly
positioned and in direct contact with either the aqueous humor 20
or the vitreous humor 22.
The reason for the bending of the tubular extension 40 relative to
the main section housing 38 is so that it facilitates manual
maneuverability to permit insertion of tubular extension 40 in the
proper position. Once the proper position is obtained, it is
desired to fix in position the tubular extension 40 onto the
eyeball 10. Protruding laterally from one side of the tubular
extension 40 is a mounting flange 68 with a similar mounting flange
70 being integrally connected to the opposite side of the tubular
extension 40. These flanges 68 and 70 are, again, for the purpose
to be sutured directly to the sclera 14 thereby fixing the precise
position of the tubular extension 40.
The flap in the sclera 14 that was produced by the incision 24 is
now stretched over the extension 40 and the main section housing 38
and is sutured in place. Because of the smallness of the apparatus
36 of this invention, there will only remain a slight bulge that
possibly would be observed if one looked closely at the eyeball 10.
Upon pressure exceeding the twenty millimeters of mercury of the
aqueous humor 20, and the rounded end 66 is located in conjunction
with the aqueous humor 20, liquid will be conducted through the
openings 56 filling the chamber 72 and then through the openings 52
and deposited near the exterior surface of the sclera 14. This
liquid will then be conducted through the body of the human being
and disposed of in a normal manner as waste.
* * * * *